Who Has the Power?

 

             In 1990, the world heard the German rap group, Snap, first belt the words, “I’ve got the power!” Although they paired it alongside period-appropriate dance moves and big hair styles, the phrase itself couldn’t be farther from the truth. In his article, “Basics of Studying Power,” Professor G. William Domhoff  of UC Santa Cruz defines power as being able to realize wishes. Having distributive power, as opposed to collective power that people share, he goes on to explain, “is about who has power over who and what.” In his other article, “Wealth, Income and Power,” he proves that wealth being used in the form of  “donations to political parties, payments to lobbyists,” and even “stock ownership, can be used to control corporations, which of course have a major impact on how society functions.” So while we may all have a power over our own lives to an extent, those who control how our lives are structured have the most power. This kind of power is not wielded by the politicians, lobbyists or corporations, but rather by the people who fund them. In our society, those with old money, or money that has remained in a family for generations, rule because of their wealth, set connections, and knowledge of working the governmental system.

             People who have the most of what’s valued in society are automatically seen to have power. For example, much of the American dream is defined as owning property, the best materialistic goods, and having financial security. Referring back to Domhoff’s definition of power being the ability to grant wishes, we can conclude that if someone has met these set societal wishes, they hold a certain power over those who haven’t. This wealth-based power directly affects our lives, whether we realize it or not. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald writes, “I remembered, of course, that the World's Series had been fixed in 1919... It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million people” (73). When the narrator, Nick, asked later how it was possible, he was told, “ ‘He just saw the opportunity’ ” (73). Fitzgerald is pointing out how easy it is for the rich, more specifically, those with old money, to alter the world around them without others even realizing it. Think of what this secret influence has changed in our lives today. According to Edward N. Wolff of New York University in his research paper on the wealth of social classes, in 2010, 91.6% of all stock owned is in the hands of the top 20% wealth class. Additionally, 94.3% of all households of the 1% class owned $10,000 or more in stocks. This extreme gap and ownership of wealth allows for the rich to have the most influence on policy, commercialism, distribution of money, and, of course, how much they can keep and gain. Over the years, the small group with the most wealth have networked with each other to maintain power.

             Those with old money owe their ability to keep their wealth and high standing to the connections made by the generations before them. Franklin D. Roosevelt, for example, was handed down the opportunity of education and high ranking job titles due to his family’s position. The Roosevelt family amassed their wealth along others who took advantage of the same railroad, trade, and real estate opportunities. David Samuels, a writer for the Atlantic would argue that anyone, like rapper Jay-Z suggests, can “locate and develop their genius, which only a few people are able or willing to do,” and go on to make millions just as he did.  Samuels  portrays Jay-Z in his article, “What Obama Can Learn From Jay-Z,” as someone who holds a great deal of power, and used that to help Obama win the 2012 election. Samuels’ statement, however, is extremely single-minded. He fails to acknowledge the many other factors that lead to Obama’s victory. For example, when looking at the money alone raised for each presidential candidate, Obama had a $80.1 million  lead over Romney (New York Times). Jay-Z is a symbol for the rags-to-riches aspect of the American dream because it is so rare. And even with that influence, he’s far too publicized to have the kind of backroom-deal power that a lot of old money and corporations construct. Those behind-the-scenes deals, when examined closely, can be found to affect almost all aspects of our government.

             In 1787, delegates of the Philadelphia Convention wrote and agreed upon the rules that would govern America. They wanted a society that was created for the people, so that everyone could have equal say. And though we continue to pride ourselves on this as a country, it’s no longer completely true. Cal Thomas, a panelist on Fox News Watch, wrote in his article “Is the American Dream Over?” that “ the eclipse of liberalism’s American dream has been largely caused by [the] expanding, encroaching, over-taxing, over-spending, and over-regulating government” (569).  He completely blames the government for the state of the economy. What he doesn’t address in his article, however, is the real reason behind those governmental actions. The close relationship that the very wealthy have with the government is evident in the analysis of the top 400 American income earners. Most of these households have had and kept their money through their connections with each other and the government. This is shown by how “the average income of the top 400 tripled during the Clinton administration and doubled during the first seven years of the Bush administration” (Domhoff). Professor Domhoff also shines a light on how “almost 75% of the income for the top 400 comes from capital gains and dividends,” and yet, they and others in the 1% pay the almost the same percentage on combined local and state taxes of their earnings as the people 18% lower on the income level do. Having power over their own wealth is just one way old money uses our system to their advantage. If we were to look into the organizations who support lobbyists and politicians and how they spend their money, we can draw simple conclusions of what they are really putting their money to change. Tyson Slocum of the Public Citizen’s Energy Program says, “Political action committees, lobbyists and executives do not give money to politicians or parties out of an altruistic support of the principles of democracy” (PBS). He urges us to recognize that they are investors, and expect the return to favor their personal agendas.  Even the major issues, like our involvement with oil in the Middle East, have been set up by those with old money who influence the government to reflect their wishes. In our society, it takes more than just money to make a difference, it takes the knowledge of how to use it to grant large wishes and the connections that come with having it for years.

             Almost all aspects of our lives are influenced by the power of money. Our elections, laws, taxes, and class rankings have been formed and influenced heavily by those that we may not always consider. We need to keep the possible reasons for acts of power in mind. We must ask ourselves: Why is this being said or done? How have the people making the change gotten into the position to have this kind of influence? Who supports them? We need to recognize why changes are really being made and how that will affect everyone involved. By asking these questions, we’ll learn more about how those with old money pull the strings in our society- something that we need to understand if it will ever change.  We may not all be equal, but we should at least be aware of it.

 

 

Works Cited

Ashkenas, Jeremy, Matthew Ericson, Alicia Parlapiano, and Derek Willis. "The 2012 Money Race: Compare the Candidates."                The New York Times. N.p., 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2014. Source: Federal Election Commission

Domhoff, G. William. "Who Rules America: Basics of Studying Power." Who Rules America: Basics of Studying Power. UCSC,              n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

Domhoff, G. William. "Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power."Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power.                   UCSC, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 2004. Print.

Mayer, Lindsay R. "Big Oil, Big Influence." PBS. PBS, 1 Aug. 2008. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

"The Power by Snap." Songfacts.com. Song Facts, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

Samuels, David. "What Obama Can Learn From Jay-Z." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 07 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 Nov.                2014.

Thomas, Cal. “Is the American Dream Over?” They Say/ I Say. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Dunst. New York:             W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 572-579. Print.